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"There's a Rotten Egg in the Room!"

Now that I've taken your appetite away, let me tell you why! You see, last night I precariously entered my teenage son's room, if you can call it a room, merely looking for my nail clippers. A sniff or two, once in the room, told me that "something" of an undesirable nature was IN that room--spoiled food, smelly sneakers, small wiggly dead creature, or some other "whatever"! And whatever it was, it smelled--bad!

Reporting the crisis to my son did not seem to faze him--much--except I did get an admission that "yes, there is a bad smell in my room!" Case dismissed......not quite..."You start cleaning that room, young man!" - and apparently he did, late last night, for he reported gleefully to me this morning that he had found the culprit--an old scientific egg assignment from the last school year, stuffed into some bookshelves....rotting away to its heart's content!

We've all seen the sign. Sometimes it's on a fence protecting a farmer's field or on a closed gate shutting off access to someone's home. Sometimes it's on the door to a teenager's bedroom.

And sometimes it's written in big bold letters across our hearts. We don't want to let anyone in. We keep our thoughts and feelings to ourselves. We create an aura of self-confidence that leads everyone to believe we're in control. It's safe that way. No-one can hurt you if they don't know you. 

We do this even when we do need other people. When life falls apart due to circumstances, sickness or accident, instead of reaching out for help we tend to withdraw, to cover up the mess and try to keep the facade in place. God forbid that we show any sign of weakness.

"So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen.  For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever."
II Corinthians 4:18 (NLT)

The last short track race of the 2004 season was Martinsville.  It could very well have been the pivotal race in the Chase for the Championship.  Jeff Gordon has won Martinsville five times.  Rusty Wallace can claim seven victories there.  It is known as a fender-bender race and often the cars are very mangled when the checkered flag flies.

Jimmie Johnson, who has found himself with numerous troubles in the final ten races, was in the lead at the end of the 500 miles.  But, after a short burnout in front of the fans he was given the tragic news that a Hendrick Motorsports plane, with ten people aboard, had crashed on its way to the race.  The time of celebration turned quickly to concern.  Jimmie was whisked away to meet with the other Hendrick drivers and the famous #48 Lowe's Chevrolet never made it to Victory Lane.

"We have entered a time when ... people ... are awakening to the call ... to ... transform ourselves into wholesome, healthy, balanced, collective human beings ..."

Sounds good, doesn't it? The statement, made in last week's Edmonton Journal, is no doubt well-intentioned. Who among us does not want an end to all that is unwholesome, unhealthy, and imbalanced in our lives? The writer of the article in the Journal goes on to say that utopia is possible by simply knowing ourselves, by engaging in "self-realization" and becoming "masters of our own well-being." She says that the essence of spiritual belief is "Know yourself."

I beg to differ. The essence of my belief is Know your God. Christianity is not about self-focus but about God-focus. We cannot truly know . . .